Comprehensive Breast Health – A Hallmark of SJRMC Care

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month – a good time to review the resources available from San Juan Regional Medical Center to women in the Four Corners for breast health. Breast cancer is a tenacious and deadly enemy, and the effort to defeat it has to be equally tenacious. The hospital has committed a lot of resources to the effort, from early detection to post-treatment. It all starts with vigilance on the part of women and their physicians. Women are encouraged to get regular mammograms (more about that in a moment), yet for many low income women, mammograms are unaffordable and that's one of the first hurdles to overcome.

Qualifying women can find help through two programs specific to early detection. The San Juan Medical Foundation, through the Cathy Lincoln Memorial Cancer Fund, has provided financial assistance to hundreds of women for mammograms, PAP smears, ultrasounds and medications. The fund is supported by an annual luncheon and style show which sells out every year. This year's event will be held on Wednesday, October 17 from 11:30am-1:00pm at the Courtyard by Marriot. Also, the New Mexico Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program is coordinated by San Juan Regional Medical Center to provide well woman exams. The program is so popular and important that all the funds allocated to the program are used each year.

Prevention is further encouraged through a program called Generation to Generation which is offered to area high school students. In this program, girls are encouraged to eat healthy, stop smoking and live a life style that will reduce their breast cancer risk factors. They are also encouraged to take this healthy living message home to their mothers and grandmothers. Since the program was introduced three years ago, hundreds of young women of high school age have received the message.

Women have been encouraged to perform breast self exams (BSE) for years, but within the last few years, the efficacy of these exams have been called into question. San Juan Regional Medical Center offers the area's only research based and validated method of BSE – a program called "MammaCare" which is taught by SJRMC breast health educators Fran Robinson, Nancy Homler and Linda Canyon. The MammaCare method teaches women how to distinguish between normal lumps and abnormal lumps.

Effective though the MammaCare Method is, however, it does not replace the need for regular mammograms. Mammograms at San Juan Regional Medical Center are performed at the Outpatient Diagnostic Center located at 2300 30th St. Building C. The mammograms are evaluated by staff Radiologists and by CAD – computer aided detection. About a year ago, San Juan Regional Medical Center purchased the ImageChecker which acts as a "second pair of eyes" for the Radiologist. The device performs over 1 billion calculations per image and brings anomalies to the Radiologist's attention for a second look. San Juan Regional Medical Center's ImageChecker is the only such device in the area. MRIs are also available if indicated by the physician.

The hospital recently introduced a new program, called Cancer Navigator, designed to facilitate the care a cancer patient receives. Although this program is not breast cancer specific, it is an important adjunct to breast cancer care. When a patient is first diagnosed with cancer, they can be overwhelmed by the choices and decisions that have to be made. These decisions often need to be made quickly because that's the best way to fight cancer – when it is in the early stages. The Cancer Navigator helps the patient understand and sort through the choices that her provider has recommended. A newly diagnosed breast cancer patient is also visited by a breast cancer survivor in a program named Reach to Recovery. The volunteer brings comfort in the form of several items sewn by hospital volunteers: a special cloth bag, a soft, handmade pillow and a teddy bear.

Treatment may be provided at the San Juan Regional Cancer Center by Radiation Oncologist Dr. Linh Nguyen who was trained at M.D.Anderson. The nurses at the Cancer Center are all Certified Oncology Nurses or working toward their certification. New in the last twelve months is the availability of a PET/CT scanner on premises at SJRMC. Patients no longer have to travel to Albuquerque for PET scans, which can aid in targeting treatment. Besides Radiation Oncology, the patient may also be treated with chemotherapy or surgery as indicated. After surgery, the patient has access to a lymphedema specialist, Linda Canyon, to offer advice and rehabilitation to decrease the incidence of after surgery complications.

For breast cancer patients who come from out of town, the Connelly House, run by the San Juan Medical Foundation, provides a low cost (or no cost) alternative to staying in motel rooms while treatment is being administered. Their families may also stay in the Connelly House. Most Connelly House funding comes from the annual Cancer Walk-a-Thon.

A number of studies, including one done by Ohio State University, have shown that survival rates for cancer patients are substantially improved by support groups. There are even studies which suggest that such support groups strengthen the immune system. San Juan Regional Medical Center sponsors three cancer support groups, including one for breast cancer survivors.

MammaCare, the ImageChecker, the Cancer Navigator, routine mammography, breast ultrasound, the Cancer Center and support groups all play vital roles helping women to achieve the greatest possible breast health. No one strategy will defeat breast cancer, but fighting the battle on many fronts at once offers our best hope for the women of the Four Corners.